On April Fools Day 2022, Aether Studios created and used some custom-made hand puppets for their Rivals Direct 4 showcase video to entertain their fans while keeping them up to speed on the latest games that are currently in development for the future. Some people think this was a light-hearted joke while others see this as paying respects to Satoru Iwata.note Satoru Iwata had made a lot of crucial contributions in the development of the Smash Bros. series and he formally apologized for Nintendo's showcasing at E3 2015 which had been poorly received by the fans because it was a pre-recorded video presentation that relied on the use of hand puppets and didn't have any noteworthy entries from its main franchises in the lineup. Shortly after E3 2015, Satoru Iwata publicly disclosed that he had serious health complications due to a cancerous growth from 2014 that, despite having been removed, resurfaced in 2015. The cancer would end up claiming his life in July of the same year. This revelation, which would explain why he couldn't appear in person for E3 2014 and E3 2015, caused fans to realize with great regret that his last interaction with them was a wave of unfair criticism that he was planning to make amends for.
showcase video to entertain their fans while keeping them up to speed on the latest games that are currently in development for the future. Some people think this was a light-hearted joke while others see this as paying respects to Satoru Iwata.note 